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AS Ekspress Grupp: Consolidated Interim Report for the Second Quarter and Half Year of 2012

Teade

Tallinn, Estonia, 2012-08-02 09:23 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --


The following report presents the consolidated financial information of AS
Ekspress Grupp, the related market developments and management decisions. The
financial indicators and ratios show the outcome of the Group’s continuing
operations, i.e. they express the consolidated operating results of online
media, periodicals and printing services segments. 

Key financial indicators and financial ratios

Financial indicators                                   Q2 2012  Q2 2011  Change%
(EUR thousand)                                                                  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the reporting period                                                        
Sales                                                   15 762   14 963       5%
Gross profit                                             3 795    3 388      12%
EBITDA*                                                  2 526    2 024      25%
Operating profit*                                        1 670    1 134      47%
Net profit/(loss) for the period*                          972      394     147%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Extraordinary gain from the acquisition of Eesti             0        0       0%
 Päevalehe AS                                                                   
Net profit for the period in the interim financial         972      394     147%
 statements                                                                     
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Financial indicators                              Half year    Half year  Change
(EUR thousand)                                         2012         2011     %  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the reporting period                                                        
Sales                                                29 982       28 109      7%
Gross profit                                          6 595        6 005     10%
EBITDA*                                               4 141        3 418     21%
Operating profit*                                     2 427        1 690     44%
Net profit/(loss) for the period*                     1 154          240    381%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Extraordinary gain from the acquisition of                0        1 540   -100%
 Eesti Päevalehe AS                                                             
Net profit for the period in the interim              1 154        1 780    -35%
 financial statements                                                           
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* excluding the net extraordinary gain in relation to the acquisition of Eesti
Päevalehe AS. In the 1st quarter of 2011, an additional 50% ownership interest
in Eesti Päevalehe AS was acquired. The transaction was accounted for in two
parts: firstly, as the sale of the current 50% ownership interest on which the
net extraordinary gain totalled EUR 1 540 thousand and secondly, as the
acquisition of the wholly-owned subsidiary (see Note 4 to the interim financial
statements). 

Profitability ratios (%)      Q2 2012  Q2 2011
----------------------------------------------
                             -----------------
Sales growth (%)               5.3%     11.2% 
Gross margin (%)               24.1%    22.6% 
EBITDA margin (%)*             16.0%    13.5% 
Operating margin (%)*          10.6%    7.6%  
Net margin (%) *               6.2%     2.6%  
ROA (%)                        1.2%     0.5%  
ROE (%)                        2.5%     1.0%  
----------------------------------------------
Earnings per share (EPS) EUR   0.03     0.01  
----------------------------------------------



Profitability ratios (%)      Half year 2012  Half year 2011
------------------------------------------------------------
                             -------------------------------
Sales growth (%)                    7%             12%      
Gross margin (%)                   22%             21%      
EBITDA margin (%)*                 14%             12%      
Operating margin (%)*               8%              6%      
Net margin (%) *                    4%              1%      
ROA (%)                             1%              2%      
ROE (%)                             3%              5%      
------------------------------------------------------------
Earnings per share (EPS) EUR       0.04            0.06     
------------------------------------------------------------

* excluding the net extraordinary gain in relation to the acquisition of Eesti
Päevalehe AS (see above) 

Formulas used to calculate the financial ratios:

Sales growth (%)      (sales 2012 – sales 2011)/ sales 2011*100
Gross margin (%)      gross profit/sales*100                   
EBITDA margin (%)     EBITDA* /sales*100                       
Operating margin (%)  operating profit*/sales*100              
Net margin (%)        net profit*/sales*100                    
Earnings per share    net profit/average number of shares      
ROA (%)                      net profit/average assets *100    
ROE (%)                      net profit/average equity *100    
                                                               

* excluding the net extraordinary gain in relation to the acquisition of Eesti
Päevalehe AS. 



Financial indicators         30.06.2012  31.12.2011  Change%
(EUR thousand)                                              
------------------------------------------------------------
As of the end of the period                                 
Current assets                   12 310      12 523      -2%
Non-current assets               67 580      68 986      -2%
Total assets                     79 890      81 509      -2%
------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------
Current liabilities              16 575      16 547       0%
Non-current liabilities          23 656      26 574     -11%
Total liabilities                40 231      43 121      -7%
------------------------------------------------------------
Equity                           39 659      38 388       3%
------------------------------------------------------------



Financial position ratios (%)  30.06.2012  31.12.2011
-----------------------------------------------------
Equity ratio (%)                      50%         47%
Liquidity ratio                       0,7         0,8
Debt to equity ratio (%)              76%         83%
Debt to capital ratio (%)             41%         44%
-----------------------------------------------------

Formulas used to calculate the financial ratios:

Equity ratio (%)        equity / (liabilities + equity)* 100                    
Liquidity ratio         current assets/current liabilities                      
Debt to equity ratio    interest bearing liabilities /equity*100                
 (%)                                                                            
Debt to capital ratio   interest bearing liabilities –cash and cash equivalents 
 (%)                     (net debt)/                                            
                        (net debt+ equity)*100                                  

In the 2nd quarter, AS Ekspress Grupp’s consolidated net profit was 147% higher
than a year ago, i.e. EUR 972 thousand. The net profit for the first half of
the year (excluding the net extraordinary gain in relation to the acquisition
of Eesti Päevalehe AS) increased by 381% and totalled EUR 1.2 million. In the
2nd quarter, EBITDA increased by 25% as compared to last year and totalled EUR
2.5 million, and in the first half of the year, it increased by 21% and
totalled EUR 4.1 million. In the 2nd quarter, the company’s sales amounted to
EUR 15.7 million, which is 5% higher than last year. In the first half of the
year, the company’s sales amounted to EUR 29.9 million, which is 7% higher than
last year. The group’s EBITDA margin was 16% in the 2nd quarter and 14% in the
first half of the year. As compared to the budget for 2012, the Group exceeded
its sales forecasts by 2% and EBITDA forecasts by 10%. 

Sale of the online media segment increased the most, by 16% in the 2nd quarter
and 17% in the first half of the year. With regard to EBITDA growth, the
periodicals segment showed the best results in the 2nd quarter with its 150%
growth rate. However, the online media segment improved its results the most,
increasing its EBITDA by 97%. 

The most successful company in the online media segment in terms of its sales
growth was Delfi Lithuania both in the 2nd quarter and in the first half of the
year. Its EBITDA growth was also the highest in absolute terms. Yet, in
percentage terms, sales growth was more or less similar in all Baltic States in
the 2nd quarter but Delfi Lithuania grew a little faster in the first half of
the year. The key reason behind Delfi Lithuania’s growth was reorganised sales
activities as a result of a change of management. Advertising sales growth in
mobile platforms as compared to previous periods is worth mentioning in the
online media segment, where sales were 6.4 times higher in the 2nd quarter and
4.6 times higher in the first half of the year. Advertising sales growth in
Ukraine has continued, but it failed to meet the expectations of the Group’s
management. 

In online media, business was conducted as usual without any major changes. In
Lithuania and Estonia, a new frontpage design targeted at younger readers was
introduced in the market. The alternative frontpage is called Delfi Easy in
Lithuania and Delfi2 in Estonia. The aim of this change is to offer Delfi’s
news to younger readers through a more visually oriented, image-heavy layout.
The plan also calls for introduction of a frontpage with a lot of pictures in
Latvia. In addition, new weather forecast pages were launched in Latvia and
Lithuania which have become unexpectedly popular since their launch. 

The company’s management expects the growth of the online media segment to
continue and in order to achieve this goal, we are in the process of
introducing new products in the market and we consider increasing our market
share through development or acquisition of various possible niche products. 

In the periodicals segment, both on the 2nd quarter and the entire first half
of the year were a period of contradictory trends. While in the magazine
market, the problem has been retail and subscription sales of magazines both in
Estonia and Lithuania, whereas retail and subscription sales of newspapers have
been more successful than in previous periods. It has also been possible to
raise the average subscription price. The retail sales of Eesti Päevaleht have
been greatly supported by the DVD series of Estonian classic films launched in
spring. It has also impacted the readership survey figures of Eesti Päevaleht,
guaranteeing 50% newspaper readership growth in Tallinn and over 25% growth in
entire Estonia. Advertising sales have been challenging and the print
advertising market has not shown a significant increase in the first half of
the year. Yet the situation varies from newspaper to newspaper. Maaleht and
Eesti Ekspress have managed to outperform the market and grow their advertising
revenue in the first six months of the year. The advertising revenue of Eesti
Päevaleht has continued to shrink as compared to last year. 

As a new product, we acquired a license to publish the magazine GEO in
Lithuania and its first issue was published in June. Next year, the operating
results of Lithuanian magazines will be positively impacted by an amendment to
the VAT law to be entered into force on 1 January which lowers VAT on
periodicals from current 21% to 9%. 

The largest development in terms of the operating results of the periodicals
segment has occurred at AS Eesti Ajalehed, the company which publishes Eesti
Päevaleht, Maaleht and Eesti Ekspress, where the improvement of the operating
results is attributable to the organisational structural changes implemented
earlier. In conjunction with the establishment of a new editorial office of
daily new on the basis of the editorial offices of Eesti Päevaleht and Delfi,
the operations of the entire editorial office of Delfi was transferred from AS
Delfi to AS Eesti Ajalehed on 1 May 2012. 

In the printing services segment, business was conducted as usual within the
boundaries of current production capacity. The company is unable to replicate
its drastic revenue growth achieved in prior years due to its limited capacity
and attention will primarily be paid to fulfill production caps. In the
printing services segment, the effect of an extraordinary expense (EUR 100
thousand) on the company’s operating results is worth mentioning separately,
since it will affect the segment’s profitability. By normalising the company’s
results, the printing services segment has managed to preserve its high EBITDA
margin on the level of last year. 

The key event which occurred after the balance sheet date was related to
refinancing of all group’s loan liabilities by a new syndicate. On 12 July
2012, Ekspress Grupp entered into a new syndicate contract and refinanced all
Group’s current loan and finance lease obligations towards banks and leasing
companies. The refinancing transaction was completed on 23 July 2012. The
parties to the new syndicate are SEB Pank and Nordea Bank Estonia branch. 

The most significant conditions as compared to the previous contract include a
1% lower interest margin, extension of the maturity until 25 July 2017 and
monthly instalments based on average 7.8 years annuity payment schedule. Upon
expiry of the loan contract, the bullet amount is approximately EUR 11 million.
The maturity date of the previous loan contract was 25 January 2015 and
repayments from 2013 would have occurred under a five year annuity. 

The amendments to the new syndicated loan entered into are going to have an
immediate effect on the company’s operating results. The new contract will lead
to lower monthly loan principal and interest payments, and the costs related to
the existing collateral will also fall. The effect of the contract amendments
on the company’s net profit will be approximately EUR 200 thousand per year.
While the previous loan contract limited the payment of dividends to
shareholders, it is allowed under the new contract. The company will incur an
expense in the approximate amount of EUR 60 thousand related to contract and
collateral set-up fees. 

As a result of the amendment to the syndicated loan contract, the amount of
available cash will increase, which we plan to invest in growing the business
through acquisition and launch of new entities or revenue-generating assets. 

As the refinancing of loans constitutes a post balance sheet event, the
liabilities and their allocation between current and non-current liabilities is
reported in accordance with the contract in force at the balance sheet date and
not based on the conditions as set  in the new loan contract. Please also refer
to Notes 13 and 14 to the interim financial statements. 

The Group’s management has a neutral view on the second half of the year. The
key reason for this is the macroeconomic background in Europe, the effect of
which on the operating results of Estonia and the Baltic States is neutral
rather than pessimistic. We expect online media to continue to grow while the
goal for the periodicals segment is to preserve the last year’s level. We will
continue to develop digital publications of Eesti Ekspress and Eesti Päevaleht.
We have also started to more actively search for opportunities to increase the
Group’s market share with acquisitions primarily in the area of online media. 



Overview of the Group’s segments



Key financial data of the segments in Q2 2011/2012

                          --------------------------
     (EUR thousand)                  Sales          
--------------------------                          
                           Q2 2012  Q2 2011  Change%
----------------------------------------------------
online media                 2 912    2 505      16%
periodicals                  6 606    6 356       4%
printing services            7 482    6 998       7%
central functions              279       48     481%
intersegment eliminations  (1 517)    (944)     -61%
----------------------------------------------------
TOTAL*                      15 762   14 963       5%
----------------------------------------------------



                          --------------------------
     (EUR thousand)                 EBITDA          
--------------------------                          
                           Q2 2012  Q2 2011  Change%
----------------------------------------------------
online media                   743      534      39%
periodicals                    392      157     150%
printing services            1 563    1 551       1%
central functions            (173)    (221)      22%
intersegment eliminations        1        3     -67%
----------------------------------------------------
TOTAL*                       2 526    2 024      25%
----------------------------------------------------

* excluding the net extraordinary gain in relation to the acquisition of Eesti
Päevalehe AS. 



Key financial data of the segments in the first half of the year 2011/2012

                          ----------------------------------------
     (EUR thousand)                         Sales                 
--------------------------                                        
                           Half year 2012  Half year 2011  Change%
------------------------------------------------------------------
online media                        5 099           4 358      17%
periodicals                        12 387          11 918       4%
printing services                  14 858          13 467      10%
central functions                     420              74     468%
intersegment eliminations         (2 782)         (1 708)     -63%
------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL*                             29 982          28 109       7%
------------------------------------------------------------------



                          ----------------------------------------
     (EUR thousand)                         EBITDA                
--------------------------                                        
                           Half year 2012  Half year 2011  Change%
------------------------------------------------------------------
online media                          981             497      97%
periodicals                           413             301      37%
printing services                   3 093           3 047       2%
central functions                   (347)           (435)      20%
intersegment eliminations               1               8     -88%
------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL*                              4 141           3 418      21%
------------------------------------------------------------------

* excluding the net extraordinary gain in relation to the acquisition of Eesti
Päevalehe AS. 

                  -----------------
EBITDA margin      Q2 2012  Q2 2011
------------------                 
online media           26%      21%
periodicals             6%       2%
printing services      21%      22%
-----------------------------------



                  -------------------------------
EBITDA margin      Half year 2012  Half year 2011
------------------                               
online media                  19%             11%
periodicals                    3%              3%
printing services             21%             23%
-------------------------------------------------

The segments’ EBITDA does not include goodwill impairment. This is included
within the corporate function. Neither does include the segment results
intragroup management fees. Volume-based and other fees payable to advertising
agencies have not been deducted from the advertising sales of segments, because
the Group’s management monitors the gross income of companies and segments.
Discounts and volume rebates are reported as a reduction of the Group’s sales
and are shown among eliminations. 

News portals owned by the Group

Owner            Portal        Owner              Portal         
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Delfi Estonia    www.delfi.ee  AS Eesti Ajalehed  www.ekspress.ee
-----------------------------------------------------------------
                 rus.delfi.ee                     www.maaleht.ee 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Delfi Latvia     www.delfi.lv                     www.epl.ee     
-----------------------------------------------------------------
                 rus.delfi.lv  AS SL Õhtuleht     www.ohtuleht.ee
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Delfi Lithuania  www.delfi.lt                                    
-----------------------------------------------------------------
                 ru.delfi.lt                                     
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Delfi Ukraine    www.delfi.ua                                    
-----------------------------------------------------------------



Online media segment

The online media segment includes Delfi operations in Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania and Ukraine as well as the Parent Company Delfi Holding. 



                          --------------------------
     (EUR thousand)                  Sales          
--------------------------                          
                           Q2 2012  Q2 2011  Change%
----------------------------------------------------
Delfi Estonia                1 009      871      16%
Delfi Latvia                   613      533      15%
Delfi Lithuania              1 269    1 084      17%
Delfi Ukraine                   21       16      31%
other Delfi companies            0        3    -100%
intersegment eliminations        0      (2)     100%
----------------------------------------------------
TOTAL                        2 912    2 505      16%
----------------------------------------------------



                          --------------------------
     (EUR thousand)                 EBITDA          
--------------------------                          
                           Q2 2012  Q2 2011  Change%
----------------------------------------------------
Delfi Estonia                  176       54     226%
Delfi Latvia                    73       38      92%
Delfi Lithuania                459      306      50%
Delfi Ukraine                 (68)     (57)     -19%
other Delfi companies          105      192     -45%
intersegment eliminations      (2)        1        -
----------------------------------------------------
TOTAL                          743      534      39%
----------------------------------------------------



                          ----------------------------------------
     (EUR thousand)                         Sales                 
--------------------------                                        
                           Half year 2012  Half year 2011  Change%
------------------------------------------------------------------
Delfi Estonia                       1 808           1 567      15%
Delfi Latvia                        1 092             955      14%
Delfi Lithuania                     2 158           1 803      20%
Delfi Ukraine                          35              23      52%
other Delfi companies                   6               8     -25%
intersegment eliminations               0               2    -100%
------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL                               5 099           4 358      17%
------------------------------------------------------------------



                          ----------------------------------------
     (EUR thousand)                         EBITDA                
--------------------------                                        
                           Half year 2012  Half year 2011  Change%
------------------------------------------------------------------
Delfi Estonia                         221              52     325%
Delfi Latvia                           66              45      47%
Delfi Lithuania                       628             270     133%
Delfi Ukraine                       (135)           (142)       5%
other Delfi companies                 204             272     -25%
intersegment eliminations             (3)               0        -
------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL                                 981             497      97%
------------------------------------------------------------------

In the 2nd quarter of 2012, all Delfi companies managed to show uniformly
strong results, significantly exceeding the result for the same period last
year. 



Delfi Estonia

·         Delfi Estonia completed a new picture-rich frontpage –Delfi2.ee

·         A separate Olümpia 2012 section was launched

·         A Russian language e-store was opened

·         A separate soccer category in Delfi Estonian and Russian versions as
well as mobile applications 

·         New categories in the sections of Publik, Sport, Noorte Hääl as well
as on Delfi’s Russian page 

·         A new Facebook wall in Noorte Hääl

·         Reisileidja (Travel finder) is now also on Facebook

·         Delfi archive received a facelift

·         Administration of Delfi stories and photos was upgraded and improved

In the 2nd quarter of 2012, there were no major changes in the Estonian
Internet market. Two media portals - Delfi and Postimees – dominate the market.
The reach of Delfi Estonia is 66% on average among Estonian Internet users.
According to the data by TNS EMOR, the number of Delfi users has increased by
3-4% in a year. The online environment of Eesti Päevaleht www.epl.ee is
steadily increasing its number of users. 

At the end of June, the TNS EMOR replaced the software for monitoring online
environments and from the 3nd quarter of 2012, new data will be published which
is not directly comparable with previous quarters. 



Delfi Latvia

·         Project “Road reporter“, where videos were made of the Latvian roads
from Delfi advertising vehicle during 12 weeks 

·         A new weather section was launched, which received positive feedback
and attracted many new users 

·         New sections for ice hockey, European Football Championships and
London Olympics were launched 

·         Media partner in the international advertising festival Golden Hammer
and in the largest classical music festival “Riga     Festival” 

The most popular websites among the Latvian Internet users continue to be the
e-mail environment Inbox and the social network Draugiem. Delfi Latvia
(delfi.lv) continues to be the most popular news portal. A change of ownership
of competing portals (apollo.lv and tvnet.lv) in the 4th quarter of 2011 has
not changed reader preferences and also no major changes have occurred in the
preferences of Russian readers. 

In April 2012, the total number of Internet users published by the research
company Gemius was corrected and hence, there is also a noticeable decline in
the number of users in April. 



Delfi Lithuania

·         Similarly to Estonia, a picture-rich frontpage Delfi Easy was launched

·         A new weather section and “Mano litai“ targeted at consumers were
launched 

·         A separate category for London Olympics

·         Delfi game section was upgraded

·         Official communications partner at Lithuanian Internet conference
LOGIN 

Delfi continues to be the uncontested market leader among Lithuanian Internet
users with biggest reach among internet users. Schibsted Group continues its
aggressive expansion in Lithuania, it acquired the TV-schedule portal tv.lt and
the weather portal orai.lt in the 2nd quarter of 2012. With these investments,
15min.lt has significantly increased its readership over the last year and has
reached the second place among Lithuanian portals in terms of its readership
numbers. 



Delfi Ukraine

·         Marketing actions in social media and collaboration projects with
radio and TV channels to improve Delfi’s visibility in the market 

The Ukrainian Internet market operates in a significantly different manner than
that of the Baltic States. The number of users of Delfi.ua has increased by ca.
15% as compared to the 2nd quarter of 2011. Higher general activity of Internet
users in June is primarily related to the organisation of the European Football
Championships in Ukraine. According to the data by Gemius, the total number of
Ukrainian Internet users was 14.5 million in June. 



Periodicals segment

The periodicals segment includes the publishers of newspapers, magazines and
books. This segment also includes AS Express Post, engaged in home delivery of
periodicals. 

On 1 October 2011, Eesti Päevalehe AS and AS Eesti Ajalehed were merged. At the
same date, the book publishing department of the merged company was spun off as
a separate legal entity under the name of OÜ Hea Lugu that remained as the
subsidiary of AS Eesti Ajalehed. On 1 November 2011, the joint ventures AS SL
Õhtuleht and AS Linnaleht were merged, and from 1 January 2012, Uniservice OÜ
and AS Ajakirjade Kirjastus were merged. 



--------------------------                          
     (EUR thousand)                  Sales          
                          --------------------------
                           Q2 2012  Q2 2011  Change%
----------------------------------------------------
AS Eesti Ajalehed**          3 513    3 303       6%
AS SL Õhtuleht*                964      864      12%
AS Ajakirjade Kirjastus*     1 110    1 074       3%
UAB Ekspress Leidyba           723      773      -6%
AS Express Post*               586      607      -3%
Uniservice OÜ*                   0        5    -100%
intersegment eliminations    (290)    (270)      -7%
TOTAL                        6 606    6 356       4%
----------------------------------------------------



                          --------------------------
     (EUR thousand)                 EBITDA          
--------------------------                          
                           Q2 2012  Q2 2011  Change%
----------------------------------------------------
AS Eesti Ajalehed**            223    (203)     210%
AS SL Õhtuleht*                100       63      59%
AS Ajakirjade Kirjastus*        10       78     -87%
UAB Ekspress Leidyba          (10)       44    -123%
AS Express Post*                72       78      -8%
Uniservice OÜ*                   0        0        -
intersegment eliminations      (3)       97        -
TOTAL                          392      157     150%
----------------------------------------------------



-----------------------------                                        
       (EUR thousand)                          Sales                 
                             ----------------------------------------
                              Half year 2012  Half year 2011  Change%
---------------------------------------------------------------------
AS Eesti Ajalehed**                    6 433           6 546      -2%
AS SL Õhtuleht*                        1 876           1 701      10%
AS Ajakirjade Kirjastus*               2 095           2 035       3%
UAB Ekspress Leidyba                   1 355           1 428      -5%
AS Express Post*                       1 180           1 209      -2%
Uniservice OÜ*                             0               8    -100%
intersegment eliminations***           (552)         (1 009)      45%
TOTAL                                 12 387          11 918       4%
---------------------------------------------------------------------



                             ----------------------------------------
       (EUR thousand)                          EBITDA                
-----------------------------                                        
                              Half year 2012  Half year 2011  Change%
---------------------------------------------------------------------
AS Eesti Ajalehed**                      239           (155)     254%
AS SL Õhtuleht*                          135             113      19%
AS Ajakirjade Kirjastus*                (16)              60    -127%
UAB Ekspress Leidyba                    (73)               2   -3750%
AS Express Post*                         129             149     -13%
Uniservice OÜ*                             0             (3)     100%
intersegment eliminations***             (1)             135        -
TOTAL                                    413             301      37%
---------------------------------------------------------------------

* Proportionate share of joint ventures

** For the purpose of comparability, AS Eesti Ajalehed combines the data for AS
Eesti Ajalehed, Eesti Päevalehe AS (100% in both years) with that of OÜ Hea
Lugu. 

*** Intra-segment eliminations in sales and EBITDA for the first half of 2011
include the elimination of the 50% ownership interest in Eesti Päevalehe AS in
January and February. 

In the 2nd quarter of 2012, the revenue of the periodicals segment grew and
primarily due to additional sales from Linnaleht and a successful DVD series of
Estonian classic films. The segment’s advertising and periodicals sales have
stayed more or less stable. In the 2nd quarter, revenue from book publishing
increased, but primarily due to sales campaigns which unfortunately did not
significantly increase the profit. 

The joint project of OÜ Hea Lugu and Eesti Päevaleht to celebrate the 100th
anniversary of Estonian film industry, in the framework of which a series of 30
Estonian classic films will be issued, has received a very warm reception and
helped to increase single copy sales of Eesti Päevaleht as well as offset
modest revenues of book publishing in the first half of the year. 



Estonian newspaper circulation 2011-2012

In the 2nd quarter of 2012, no major changes occurred in the circulation of
newspapers. It is worth mentioning that only Äripäev has increased its
circulation and namely in June 2012. As compared to the 1st quarter of 2012,
Eesti Päevaleht has also increased its circulation. Other publications of the
Group, Eesti Ekspress and Maaleht have maintained their stable position. The
publication of Schibsted Group, Postimees has slightly lost its circulation in
the 2nd quarter of 2012. As a long-term trend, the circulation of newspapers
continues to fall slightly similarly to other countries. 

Estonian newspaper readership 2011-2012

Due to the selection of a new partner for printed newspaper readership surveys,
it is not statistically correct to compare the data for 2011 and 2012 in
absolute terms but for the purpose of comparability, they are shown in the same
chart. Eesti Päevaleht has increased significantly the number of its users, by
25% as compared to the 1st quarter of 2012. The number of users of Eesti
Päevaleht has increased for two consecutive quarters. The Group continues to
focus on development of digital versions of its newspapers, the readers of
which are not included in the graph above. 



Printing services segment

All printing services of AS Ekspress Grupp are provided by AS Printall which is
one of the largest printing companies in Estonia. Printall is able to print
both newspapers (coldset) and magazines (heatset). 



---------------                          
(EUR thousand)            Sales          
               --------------------------
                Q2 2012  Q2 2011  Change%
-----------------------------------------
AS Printall       7 482    6 998       7%
-----------------------------------------



               --------------------------
(EUR thousand)           EBITDA          
---------------                          
                Q2 2012  Q2 2011  Change%
-----------------------------------------
AS Printall       1 563    1 551       1%
-----------------------------------------



---------------                                        
(EUR thousand)                   Sales                 
               ----------------------------------------
                Half year 2012  Half year 2011  Change%
-------------------------------------------------------
AS Printall             14 858          13 467      10%
-------------------------------------------------------



               ----------------------------------------
(EUR thousand)                   EBITDA                
---------------                                        
                Half year 2012  Half year 2011  Change%
-------------------------------------------------------
AS Printall              3 093           3 047       2%
-------------------------------------------------------

The printing company Printall continues to exceed the previous year’s results
and it managed to increase its sales by 7% in the 2nd quarter. Growth has
primarily come from exports. The EBITDA of Printall this year will be
negatively impacted by a one-off expense in the amount of EUR 100 thousand.
Most of the volume growth is generated by printing on heatset machines. 

Geographical break-down of printing services

                              Q2 2012  Q2 2011  Change%
-------------------------------------------------------
                             --------------------------
Exports                         5 144    4 666      10%
Finland                           763      536      42%
Sweden                          1 688    1 338      26%
Norway                            749      744       1%
Russia                            883    1 025     -14%
Denmark                           164      194     -15%
Lithuania                         204      190       7%
other exports                     693      639       8%
Estonia                         2 338    2 332       0%
Total sales                     7 482    6 998       7%
-------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------
Incl. intra- group sales        1 042    1 055      -1%
Incl. sales outside of group    6 440    5 943       8%
-------------------------------------------------------



                              Half year 2012  Half year 2011  Change%
---------------------------------------------------------------------
                             ----------------------------------------
Exports                               10 346           9 001      15%
Finland                                1 458             967      51%
Sweden                                 3 312           2 544      30%
Norway                                 1 334           1 453      -8%
Russia                                 2 019           2 168      -7%
Denmark                                  315             430     -27%
Lithuania                                374             372       1%
other exports                          1 534           1 067      44%
Estonia                                4 512           4 466       1%
Total sales                           14 858          13 467      10%
---------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Incl. intra- group sales               2 000           2 037      -2%
Incl. sales outside of group          12 858          11 430      12%
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Consolidated balance sheet (unaudited)

(EUR thousand)                    30.06.2012  31.12.2011
--------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------
ASSETS                                                  
Current assets                                          
Cash and cash equivalents           2 242          2 729
Trade and other receivables         7 380          6 921
Inventories                         2 648          2 833
Total                              12 270         12 483
Non-current assets held for sale       40             40
Total current assets               12 310         12 523
--------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------
Non-current assets                                      
Term deposit                           98             98
Trade and other receivables           108            167
Investments in associates               0              0
Property, plant and equipment      15 873         16 751
Intangible assets                  51 501         51 970
Total non-current assets           67 580         68 986
--------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL ASSETS                       79 890         81 509
--------------------------------------------------------
                                 -----------------------
LIABILITIES                                             
Current liabilities                                     
Borrowings                          6 435          5 436
Trade and other payables           10 140         11 111
Total current liabilities          16 575         16 547
--------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------
Non-current liabilities                                 
Long-term borrowings               23 521         26 397
Other long-term liabilities            89              1
Derivate instruments                   46            176
Total non-current liabilities      23 656         26 574
--------------------------------------------------------
Total liabilities                  40 231         43 121
--------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------
EQUITY                                                  
Share capital                      17 878         17 878
Share premium                      14 277         14 277
Reserves                              610            480
Retained earnings                   6 903          5 749
Currency translation reserve          (9)              4
Total equity                       39 659         38 388
--------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY       79 890         81 509
--------------------------------------------------------
                                                        



Consolidated statement of comprehensive income (unaudited)

(EUR thousand)                                  Q2      Q2  Half year  Half year
                                              2012    2011       2012       2011
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sales                                       15 762  14 963     29 982     28 109
Cost of sales                                  (11     (11   (23 387)   (22 104)
                                              967)    575)                      
Gross profit                                 3 795   3 388      6 595      6 005
Marketing expenses                           (582)   (509)    (1 051)      (950)
Administrative expenses                         (1      (1    (3 300)    (3 412)
                                              598)    773)                      
Other expenses                                (67)   (100)      (101)      (155)
Other income                                   122     128        284        202
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gain from sale of ownership interest in          0       0          0      1 540
 joint venture                                                                  
Operating profit                             1 670   1 134      2 427      3 230
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           -------------------------------------
Interest income                                  2      10          5         20
Interest expense                             (553)   (576)    (1 041)    (1 135)
Foreign exchange gains/(losses)                 58    (31)         14      (102)
Other finance costs                           (23)    (35)       (44)       (72)
Net finance cost                             (516)   (632)    (1 066)    (1 289)
Profit/(loss) from investments in              (3)    (10)       (30)       (11)
 associates                                                                     
Profit (loss) before income tax              1 151     492      1 331      1 930
Income tax expense                           (179)    (98)      (177)      (150)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Profit (loss) for the reporting period         972     394      1 154      1 780
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net profit (loss) for the reporting period                                      
 attributable to:                                                               
equity holders of the Parent Company           972     394      1 154      1 780
non-controlling interest                         0       0          0          0
Other comprehensive income (expense)                                            
Currency translation differences              (52)      36       (13)        107
Hedging reserve change                          68      93        130        329
Total other comprehensive income (expense)      16     129        117        436
 for the period                                                                 
Comprehensive income (expense) for the         988     523      1 271      2 216
 reporting period attributable to:                                              
equity holders of the Parent Company           988     523      1 271      2 216
non-controlling interest                         0       0          0          0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Basic and diluted earnings per share          0.03    0.01       0.04       0.06
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Consolidated cash flow statement (unaudited)

(EUR thousand)                                            Half year    Half year
                                                               2012         2011
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cash flows from operating activities                                            
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating profit (loss) for the period                        2 427        3 230
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adjustments for:                                                                
Depreciation, amortisation and impairment                     1 716        1 728
Gain from sale of ownership interest in joint venture             0      (1 540)
Profit (loss) on sale and write-downs of property,               31          (7)
 plant and equipment                                                            
Changes in working capital:                                                     
Trade and other receivables                                   (609)        (452)
Inventories                                                     185          157
Trade and other payables                                      (879)        (991)
Cash generated from operations                                2 871        2 125
Income tax paid                                                (90)         (98)
Interest paid                                               (1 041)      (1 246)
                                                       -------------------------
Net cash used in operating activities                         1 740          781
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cash flows from investing activities                                            
Investments in subsidiaries and joint ventures                    0         (26)
Interest received                                                 5           20
Purchase of property, plant and equipment                     (417)        (400)
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment              15           25
Loans granted                                                   (1)         (16)
Loan repayments received                                        181          127
                                                       -------------------------
Net cash used in investing activities                         (217)        (270)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cash flows from financing activities from continuing                            
 operations                                                                     
Finance lease repayments made                                 (390)        (611)
Change in overdraft used                                        151          583
Proceeds from borrowings (incl. factoring)                      213           28
Repayments of borrowings                                    (1 984)      (1 671)
                                                       -------------------------
Net cash used in financing activities                       (2 010)      (1 671)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NET (DECREASE)/INCREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS          (487)      (1 160)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       -------------------------
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the             2 729        2 767
 period                                                                         
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period            2 242        1 607
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




         Additional information:
         Gunnar Kobin
         Chairman of the Management Board
         GSM: +372 5188111
         e-mail: [email protected]